Tag: Jesus’ Love

Light in the Valley

On By T.J. AllenIn Christian Living, Poetry, Spiritual RenewalLeave a comment
A poem inspired by the last few years of medical issues of my family and friends
When the deep, dark valley
Seems to never end. 
When you feel all alone
Without a companion or a friend. 
When the road ahead seems
to dip, not rise at each bend. 
When the sky reaching walls 
seem to be closing in.

When the darkest night seems 
To engulf your soul.
When the many punches of life
Have taken a toll. 
When raw emotions shake you
With violent thunder roll. 
When just surviving each hour
is your greatest goal. 

When you feel beat down
From the stormy rain. 
When it's almost too much
To see through the pain. 
When each day seems a loss
With very little gain. 
When your very existence 
is something that you disdain. 

Living life can be raw, embrace, 
don't fear it. 
There's a whisper in the storm, 
Can you hear it? 
There's a light in the dark. 
Move. Draw near it.     
It's the promises of God
and His Spirit.

God is with you child
Why do you dread?
He has appointed this time
Lift up your head. 
He's not surprised by this
Rocky road you tread.
Remember His promises 
Remember what He said. 

He's the sunlight breaking
Through the cloudy sky. 
He's the constant help
Always by your side. 
The One who catches the
Tears that you cry. 
He's the One who knows 
The reasons why. 

The truth may seem simple
It may seem crass. 
Things don't come to stay
They come to pass. 
Don't focus on the storms. 
They don't last. 
Focus on the Eternal Light
That illuminates your path.

We Don’t Need Valentine’s Day

On By T.J. AllenIn Spiritual Condition and DutyLeave a comment

0207-VALENTINE-CANDY-HEARTS[1]Are we so vain or shallow in our society that we absolutely need one day out of the year to force our significant others to show their love for us? There will be those who say this is not true. Really? Why will billions of dollars be spent for this day? Why do people get so upset when the day is forgotten or if they don’t get what they think they deserve for that day? Valentine’s Day is not sacred. I personally do not need an overly commercialized day to show my wife I love her. I have 365 days to show her I love her (this year 366). If I am such a cad as I only express my love for her on one day a year, I am in a sad state of affairs. If my wife doesn’t know I love her by my continued expressions of love throughout the year then I am a cad indeed.

Don’t get me wrong. I will get my sweetheart something for Valentine’s Day not because “I have to” or “because it is expected”, I will because this affords me another opportunity to remind her of my love for her (I am not stupid). Let me take this a little further. If someone has to be coerced to show love or if you feel you need to coerce to be shown love, then there is something a little deeper going on there. Love should be shown every day. We all fall short of this and we men are especially oblivious.

There are some basic steps one can take to start on the year long road to showing love.

  1. Understand that everyone wants to be loved.
  2. Understand women desire love more than men do. Men desire more respect than love.
  3. Understand we all have a different way we express and receive love. A great book on this is The 5 Love Languages by Dr. Gary Chapman. It would be a great Valentine’s gift and would be even greater if read and applied.
  4. Understand that all relationships require work. This comes more naturally for some than for others, but it is important.

Love is a verb, not a feeling. It is action and choice. The greatest act of love happened around 2000 years ago on a cross. “For God (The Father) so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son (to die in our place), that whosoever should believe in Him (as Lord and Savior), should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16. (Parenthesis mine). God chose to send the Son and the Son chose to accept the mission. The God of love created us to love. He created us to be like His Son. That is our mission: to choose to show love like Jesus showed God’s love for all of us by His actions. Those around us should not doubt our love for them because we should live our lives in such a way to remove any doubt. This should be expressed more than just once a year. Do we get it right all the time? No, but as long as we are alive we get the opportunity to choose to love. Could you imagine if God only showed His love towards us only one day a year?